With The Rising Of The Sun
by charliespike18
Summary: 'They find the body on a Sunday, as the sun hangs in a cloudless sky.' - The discovery of a body brings back memories that Annie has hidden deep, memories of something she has tried hard to forget. Annie/Alan.


**_A/N Hello,hope you enjoy. :)_**

**_Title: With The Rising Of The Sun_**

**_Pairings (Mentioned or otherwise): Annie/Alan (Sort of, a little) Annie/David_**

**_Rating/Warning: T_**

**_Summary: 'They find the body on a Sunday, as the sun hangs in a cloudless sky.' - The discovery of a body brings back memories that Annie has hidden deep, memories of something she has tried hard to forget. Annie/Alan. _**

* * *

They find the body on a Sunday, as the sun hangs in a cloudless sky. It's early when Alan arrives, still half asleep, but he can already tell that it's going o be a hot day – remarkably so, considering that it is England. Helen and Annie appear and together the three police officers survey the scene in front of them. They've seen deaths like this one before – the ligature marks obvious against the pale of the girl's skin. There are bruises on her arms, a single streak of blood running down her temple and she, the pathologist points out, has been raped.

They take a break, musing on the life lost, while the sun takes its place high in the sky, beating down on them. It all seems, oddly, almost normal seeing the dead lying before them – it unnerves Alan for a moment, how desensitises he's become. But then again, can you ever be desensitised from something like this – and truly not feel anything – no, Alan doesn't think that's possible.

They remove the body, and return to the station – leaving fluttering police tape in their wake. Once there Alan sets about finding the girl's family, wanting to tell them as quickly as possible. It doesn't take long, the girl had ID on her – it identifies her as 22 year old Georgia Kane – a police officer in the making.

Alan sends Helen and Annie to inform the family while he talks to her boss. The sun is still beaming down when they enter the dead girl's parent's house, her step father is out and her mother – Jess- tells them about how Georgia's real dad had walk out on them. They break the news to her slowly, as painless as they can but she still bursts in to floods of tears the moment she realises what they mean – that they're telling her that her daughter is dead.

This is Helen's least favourite part of the job – every time she breaks someone's life by telling them about the death of a loved one she imagines this happening to her own family – to Michael or to Steven, to any of her sons really – and it brings it stark back into reality. This isn't just being a police officer; no to Helen it almost feels like part of her job is professional life breaking, of ruining a person's life and just walking away. Of course it's not like that, it's not supposed to be, but that doesn't stop it feeling like it is.

They don't have many photos' round the house and Jess Kane explains, between sobs, that they've just moved from here, from Australia of all places. Ten minutes after his wife's life has been torn apart, Tom Kane appears at the back door, car keys in hand, wondering who the voices coming from his kitchen are. Seeing his wife in distress he goes to her first, not even giving them a cursory glance. Jess whispers to him what has happened and he comforts her, soothing her. And it's then that Annie feels physically sick, and makes her excuses, leaving the house almost unable to breathe.

She sits in the front seat of her car and does up the seat belt even though she has no intention of driving anywhere. Helen appears from the house and takes the passenger seat. She doesn't speak for a moment – having noticed the sudden change in mood, the change in everything, in Annie, and waits for her to explain. Annie is holding the seat belt so hard it is leaving an impression on her hands and she's finding it hard to breathe, she closes her eyes and when she opens them she speaks.

"It was his voice" Just once, letting it resonate in the silence. Helen has no clue what has happened, no clue what the blonde is talking about, not until she speaks again.

"I recognised his voice," Annie is still staring a head, out of the car, and Helen gently asks if they should go somewhere, a coffee shop perhaps, to talk about it.

So they do.

….

Annie is holding a cup of steaming coffee in both hands before she talks again, having switched places with Helen and watched in silence as she drove them to a quiet café on the outskirts of Leeds.

"I was young, 22." She starts "I was on the way home from a night out with friends," Annie says, her just above a whisper. "He came out of nowhere," she continues, forcing the words out because they don't want to come – she hasn't talked about it for years and years and years and it's nearly killing her. "He raped me. I had no idea who he was and when," She stops, staring at the ground and Helen persuades her on. "When I reported it to the police they tried there hardest but…" Helen nods, understanding that the investigation had come to nothing, that the person who had done this was still free. Helen asks, already certain that she knows the answer, if the man who raped her was Tom Kane. Annie nods, still in shock.

"I hadn't heard his voice since that night and then…" And then she heard it sitting in the kitchen of a bereaved mother, nearly 17 years later. Annie sips the rest of her coffee, trying to stop the tears falling. Helen notices the similarities that a broken Annie hasn't – Her age, 22, was the same as Georgia Kane's, she is and Georgia was a police officer, they were both coming back from night's out and of course Tom Kane – the lethal connection.

It's leading Helen to one conclusion.

…

They spend the drive back in near silence, save for the car radio blaring inanely. Helen has realised that Annie can't stay on this case, not now- there no way anyone would let it – but she can't see Annie giving up with about at least a bit of a fight. Helen drops her off at her flat on the way back to the station. When she gets there she's met by questions from Ken and from Alan and it makes her happy that she made Annie go home instead of facing the inquest that has occurred the moment she stepped in the building.

Helen doesn't let anything slip, what Annie told her was in confidence and Helen is almost certain that at some point the blonde will confide in Alan, but the others, Ken and Tariq, the rest, don't need to know the details – just that Annie can't be on the case anymore. Sitting in his office, she tells all of this to Banks and watches as his façade – carefully built up to make him seem strong – fall away in his worry for Annie. Alan knows he can't just up and leave, to see how she is, to see what is wrong, but Helen can see that he wants nothing else. His heart isn't in anything for the rest of the afternoon; it's too busy being concerned about Annie.

So when his shift ends he heads straight to her flat, but can instantly see that her car isn't there. He goes home, his mind set on phoning Helen to see if she's seen Annie – who is not picking up her phone. His tyres crunch on the gravel as he comes in to his drive and Annie is sitting on his door step.

"I needed to talk to you," Is all that she says.

He ushers her inside and she sits on his sofa, shaking. He's worried, Helen had refused to tell anyone why Annie needed to be off the case but he knew by her tone that it wasn't a laughing matter. So when Annie starts to explain he's sitting right there by her side, just to be there if she need him.

"I lied," she starts. "When I told you I made it up," her voice is weak and it falters often. To start with Alan has no idea what she's talking about but she says two words and it all makes horrifying sense to him.

_Kirsten Farrow. _

A heartbeat later and she's talking about the night it happened. Annie relives it for a second time in 12 hours and it's taking its toll on her. She refuses to look at Alan while she speaks but greatly accepts his comfort when he wraps his arms round her. There, in his arms, she cries for the first time since she heard Tom Kane speak that morning.

Alan makes it all okay; they lie on the sofa for hours, in silence, Annie feeling safe in his arms. She falls asleep just after midnight and he holds her when she wakes from nightmares just after two, and is there when she cries again because it _hurts_. Just after four she drifts into a dreamless sleep.

And he holds her.

…

When Alan wakes he's suddenly aware of someone knocking on his front door. He tries to get up without waking Annie but it doesn't work, she gives him a sleepy smile as he disappears to see who's at his door. Alan swings it open to reveal Ken and Helen, standing side by side. They both take in the fact that he's wearing the same clothes from the day before but don't say anything. Helen covertly looks at her watch and points out the time – Alan should've been in work an hour ago. He swears, loudly, and starts to apologise but Helen interrupts – gesturing over to Annie's car.

"It's okay,"

At Helen's words, Annie appears behind him. She takes his hand for a fracture of a second and Alan takes it as a thank you. He asks both Ken and Helen to come in and they take a seat in his living room – Annie on the other hand, sits in the small kitchen part of the room, away from the others. Words don't come quickly, instead they sit in silence for nearly five minutes – Alan is unsure what exactly Ken knows, and, really, he and Annie are both half asleep.

Surprisingly, to Alan and Helen at least, it is Annie who finally speaks. Her words are quiet and she explains, to Ken they assume, what has happened – why she cannot continue to be on this case. After she has finished, Alan goes over to her and they have a hushed conversation in which he persuades her to go and have a shower.

As she disappears up the stairs Helen calls a meeting – they need to discuss what needs to happen, in regards to Tom Kane, and Georgia too. Ken advocates that they arrest the bastard immediately but Helen thinks that they should review Annie's case first, just to be sure. They decide too, that it is likely that if it was Tom Kane who raped Annie, he probably killed his own step daughter.

They just have to find the proof that he did.

As Annie emerges from the shower, another knock sounds at the door. Alan moves to answer it, and David Hornby stands, a confused look on his face. Alan watches his eyes travel from him to Annie, standing at the top of the stairs in a dressing gown. Alan has to admit it doesn't look too good from where David is standing but he's still not expecting the punch.

Annie reaches the bottom of the stairs as David shoves Alan against the wall and punches him for a second time. The younger man is shouting, accusing Alan of all kinds of things – mainly to do with the affair he believes he is having with Annie.

Helen and Ken appear a moment later, unsure of what is going on – both wondering what all the shouting is about. David lets his grasp on Alan go the moment he sees the other people – realising that he's probably jumped to a conclusion. Alan, noticing the tired, almost overwhelmed look on Annie's face, advises her to go back upstairs, to get dressed and maybe go back to sleep. She looks reluctant at first but in the end follows the advice.

David stands, still looking like he may punch Alan, his arms stuffed in to his pockets. He demands to know why Annie lied to him, why she came here if it wasn't to sleep with him. Alan speaks calmly, telling David that Annie will tell him, in her own time, but that it's not his place to say. Helen backs him up, Ken too. And David, still slightly confused and suspicious, leaves.

Before Annie comes down again, Helen and Ken have a hushed conversation. Alan is making coffee and is only half listening as they talk about what has just transpired with David. Ken, when Alan has gone upstairs to give Annie some tea, mentions that it is the conclusion he first thought of when they had arrived – that they had slept together - but Helen just shrugs, talking about the fact that Annie and Alan are both good people and wouldn't do something like that.

Ken just says that you never know what people would do for love, that you never know how much it changes a person.

….

They interview Annie an hour later, in one of the rooms at the station. Chief Superintendant Ron McLaughlin sit's opposite her, Helen next to him – both having decided that it was a better idea to have someone less involved with Annie do this. Alan, though – stubborn as he is, stands in the corner behind them, arms crossed, an unhappy look painted on his face.

They go through the details of the night, what she can remember, what she told the police at the time, how and why she is sure that it is Tom Kane who is guilty. She answers strongly, and Alan is surprised by the difference in her character.

In the room next door, Kane himself is being interviewed by Ken and Tariq. The team have discovered that three months before Annie was raped Tom Kane's first wife – a woman called Tara – left him. She was a 22 year old police officer.

None of them believe in coincidences.

….

They find others, in Australia, dating back years – all 22 year old police officers – but Georgia Kane remains the only murder victim of her step father. Annie reads the details, all horrifyingly similar to her own attack, and it breaks her a little but she continues, page by page, word by word. By the end of the day, they have enough to charge him.

So they do.

….

She still can't face David, she can't bare the idea of telling him – so she goes with Alan back to his house, she drinks more than she should, says more than she should (If she's not mistaken the words 'I love you' appear somewhere in her drunken haze) Alan just helps her in to bed, his bed, planning to spend the night on the sofa.

This time he phones David, explaining what has happened and where Annie is, he makes sure Isla is okay, and then rings off. Alan goes upstairs and sits in a chair in his bedroom, making sure that Annie has no nightmares, making sure she's okay.

He stays there all night, falling asleep with a half opened book in his lap.

….

The sun rises early and so does Annie, the light invading the room through the gaps in the curtains. She's happy, for the first time in years her shadows are gone, and they had followed her for so long.

Annie sees Alan sleeping in the chair and it almost makes her laugh – but she doesn't for fear of waking him.

When Alan finally wakes, twenty minutes later, Annie is standing by the window, watching the sun beat down on the grass.

"Thank you Alan,"

…

**A/N Please review if you have the time. :)**


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